Department for Education

Tourette's Syndrome: Children and Young People

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the effectiveness of support for children and young people with Tourette’s Syndrome as outlined in the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Alternative Provision Green Paper published in 2022, and how is that measured.

Baroness Barran: Through delivery of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, which was published in March 2023, the department is establishing a single national system that delivers for every child and young person with SEND, so that they enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes, and are well prepared for adulthood and employment.Pupils at school with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they have full access to education. In 2014, the government introduced a new duty on schools to support pupils with all medical conditions and has published statutory guidance intended to help governing bodies meet their legal responsibilities. This guidance sets out the arrangements they will be expected to make based on good practice. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and should have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed.Tourette's is a complex neurological condition and children and young people with it may also have other learning difficulties. As a result, schools must use their best endeavours to make sure a child or young person gets the special educational provision they need, which includes monitoring the progress of pupils regularly and putting support in place where needed, such as arranging diagnostic tests where appropriate.

Free School Meals: Eligibility

Baroness Boycott: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy on the proactive use of data by local authorities to identify and register all children eligible for free school meals.

Baroness Boycott: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the potential merits of permitting the proactive use of data by local authorities to identify and register all children eligible for free school meals.

Baroness Barran: Maximising the take-up of free school meals is important in ensuring that as many eligible children as possible benefit from a healthy and nutritious meal. The department aims to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility. To support this, an Eligibility Checking System has been provided to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. The department has looked at this issue and considers there to be merit in local authorities exploring initiatives to maximise take up and to better understand the barriers that prevent such take up, whilst ensuring adherence to legal and data protection constraints.

Department of Health and Social Care

Patients: Safety

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comments by the Royal College of Nursing that the fall in each of the past three years in applications to university nursing coursesis a direct threat to patient safety, and what actions they are taking to improve patient safety in England.

Lord Markham: The number of applicants continues to outstrip the places on offer. Nursing training places are competitive, and lead to an attractive and important career in the National Health Service.Record numbers of nurses are now working in the NHS, and the first ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion of funding, will add 24,000 more nurse and midwifery training places by 2031.Over the last decade, the Government and system partners have delivered major initiatives to advance patient safety in the NHS. This includes implementing the first NHS Patient Safety Strategy, establishing the independent Health Services Safety Investigations Body to address the most serious patient safety incidents, and appointing the first Patient Safety Commissioner to champion the patient voice in relation to the safety of medicines and medical devices.

Dental Services: Finance

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the estimate from the British Dental Association that only 700 of approximately 8000 NHS contract holders in England will benefit from the increase in payment per unit of dental activity.

Lord Markham: On 7 February 2024, we published Our Plan to Recover and Reform NHS Dentistry. The Dentistry Recovery Plan will make dental services faster, simpler, and fairer for patients and will fund around 2.5 million additional appointments or more than 1.5 million additional courses of dental treatment.Units of dental activity (UDA) rates vary around the country but in recognition of the fact that where rates are lowest it is harder for dentists to sustain their National Health Service work, we announced in Our Plan to Recover and Reform NHS Dentistry that we will raise the minimum UDA value to £28. This will mean that almost 1,000 contracts will see an uplift to their UDA rate this year, supporting them and making treatment of NHS patients more sustainable. We have also developed guidance to support local commissioning by integrated care boards, including how they can consider addressing UDA rates locally to support better delivery of dental care for patients. The plan also includes a number of other commitments to make NHS dentistry more attractive and sustainable, including new patient payments and Golden Hellos.We are developing further recommendations for dental contract reform to properly reflect the care needed by different patients, and to remunerate practices more fairly. We expect to develop options for consultation with the dental profession in advance of a further announcement later this year. Any changes would be phased in from 2025 onwards.

Hospices: Children

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether integrated care boards (ICBs) have been informed of the details of the Children’s Hospice Grant for children’s palliative care, including (1) the amounts awarded to each ICB, and (2) the distribution method to be used.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government when integrated care boards (ICB) in the West Midlands can expect to be informed of the details of the Children’s Hospice Grant for children’s palliative care, including (1) the amounts to each ICB, and (2) the distribution method to be used.

Lord Markham: NHS England currently supports palliative and end of life care for children and young people through the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant. Last year, NHS England confirmed that it will be renewing the funding for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million of funding for children’s hospices using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as in 2022/23 and 2023/24. This prevalence-based approach ensures funding matches local need. Funding will be distributed via integrated care boards (ICBs) in line with National Health Service devolution.All ICBs in England, including those in the West Midlands, were notified of the amount of funding that each ICB will receive during week commencing 19 February 2024. Additionally, all ICBs in England, including those in the West Midlands, will be notified of the distribution method to be used very shortly.The Department and NHS England hope to be able to provide the greater clarity that the sector is seeking on this important funding stream to children’s hospices in the coming weeks.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report published by the Health Services Journal on 5 February that NHS England regional teams were pressurising hospitals to focus energies on treating patients with less serious conditions to improve performance against the four-hour waiting time target.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the safety and health of patients most at risk of any pressure from NHS England regional teams to focus energies on treating patients with less serious conditions to improve performance against the four-hour waiting time target.

Lord Markham: No such assessment has been made. NHS England wrote to systems and trusts on 25 January 2024 reiterating the need to improve accident and emergency performance for all patients requiring emergency care and emphasised some of the known best practice in emergency department processes to ensure delays to patient care are minimised.Access to National Health Service care and treatment will always be based on clinical priority.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 19 February (HL2438), why NHS England has disregarded requests from independent advisors to the Advisory Group for Data for the version control on the Terms of Reference to be updated to reflect the full circulation of the document and the timing of that circulation.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 19 February (HL2438), whether they plan to respond positively to the request by NHS England’s Advisory Group for Data to see the next draft of the Terms of Reference before it progresses to the next stage of ratification.

Lord Markham: NHS England has confirmed that it has updated the version control for the draft document, to reflect drafts as issued together with reviewer comments, including the date issued. NHS England, through the Privacy, Transparency and Trust team in the Delivery Directorate, has received feedback on the drafts, and will publish a final version in due course, following approval by or on behalf of the NHS England Board.NHS England has confirmed that the Chair of the interim Advisory Group for Data has already been sent an updated interim version issued on 5 February 2024 and will share the next version with the group, in line with the commitment made to the group as outlined in the minutes of the meeting on 11 January 2024, before it progresses to the next stage of ratification.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Sudan: Famine

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Clingendael, From Catastrophe to Famine: Immediate action needed in Sudan to contain mass starvation, published on 8 February, which warned that "Sudan’s trajectory towards a catastrophe is certain; the risk of famine is very high”, and that “According to the most likely scenario, seven million people will face catastrophic levels of hunger by June 2024”; and what steps they are taking to coordinate an international response.

Lord Benyon: 17.7 million people in Sudan (37 percent of the population) are now thought to be experiencing acute food insecurity. This is likely to worsen in the coming months. As much as 70 percent of the population could be experiencing acute food insecurity by June. Some experts are warning of the risk of famine. We are providing £38 million in humanitarian aid to support people in Sudan this financial year (2023-2024). The UK is pushing for a concerted international community response. We also continue to put pressure on the parties to end the fighting and to abide by their commitments under International Humanitarian Law and to allow lifesaving humanitarian aid to reach the Sudanese people.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fisheries: Nature Conservation

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what stepsthey are takingto ensure thatfishing rights and conservation efforts comply withthe Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU.

Lord Douglas-Miller: The UK and EU are required under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) to cooperate with a view to ensuring that fishing activities for shared stocks are environmentally sustainable in the long term and contribute to achieving economic and social benefits. The UK complies with the requirements of the TCA and ensures that all of the actions taken are in accordance with those requirements. This includes meeting on an annual basis to set the total allowable catch for shared stocks, based on the best available scientific advice, including advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas on maximum sustainable yield. The UK derives its annual quota based on shares agreed within the TCA. Since 2021, four sets of these annual consultations have been held with the EU under the TCA. It is for the UK to decide which fisheries management measures are applicable in UK waters, and this is done in line with UK domestic obligations including those under the Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement, having regard to the objectives and principles outlined in the TCA Article 494. The Specialised Committee on Fisheries, established under the TCA, has met seven times, and provides a joint forum for cooperation between the UK and EU on fisheries issues, helping ensure that conservation efforts comply with, and support the shared objectives of, the TCA.

Cereals: Production

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they aretaking to support UK farmers to increase the production of wheat, barley, oats, and other cereals.

Lord Douglas-Miller: Our fantastic British farmers are world-leaders and carefully plan their planting to suit the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy. It is not Government policy to determine which crops farmers should prioritise to include in their crop rotation, but we will continue to support farmers, so they can make the right decisions for them and the productivity of their land. At the NFU conference, the Government announced a range of measures to boost productivity and resilience in the farming sector, including the largest ever grant offer for farmers in the coming financial year, expected to total £427 million. This includes doubling investment in productivity schemes, bolstering schemes such as the Improving Farming Productivity grant, the Water Management grant, the adding Value grant. Lastly the Farming Equipment and Technology fund can fund productivity items from a specified list of equipment, including eligible drills, fertiliser applicators, and grain dryers, which is due to open in the coming weeks. Defra’s Genetic Improvement Networks (GINs) on Wheat, Oilseed Rape and Pulses crops aim to improve the main UK crops by identifying genetic traits to improve their productivity, sustainability and resilience. Across the GINs we have already successfully identified genetic traits that have improved resilience to climate change and common pests and diseases, and we are working with breeders to incorporate these traits into elite UK crop varieties.

Agriculture: Skilled Workers

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government whattheir latest assessment of the agriculture industry’s ability to attract skilled staff.

Lord Douglas-Miller: The Government encourages all sectors to make employment more attractive to domestic workers in the United Kingdom through offering training, careers options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology. Defra is working closely with industry and across the Government to make sure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce. In 2022, the Government commissioned an independent review of labour shortages in the food supply chain. It considered how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour can contribute to tackling labour shortages, following a survey of businesses across the food chain and a series of round-table meetings. The report was published on 30 June 2023. The government is considering the 10 recommendations from the report and will respond shortly. Enabling an innovative, productive and competitive food and farming industry which invests in its people and skills to drive growth is a key priority for the Government. Attracting bright new talent into agricultural and horticultural careers and having a skilled workforce in place is vital for the future of UK food and farming. By raising awareness of agriculture as an exciting and attractive career path, people will understand the opportunities available to them in the farming and land management industry.

Pigs: Livestock Industry

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they aretaking to support pig breeders in the UK.

Lord Douglas-Miller: The British pig sector is highly resilient and plays a significant role in the production of high quality pork meat. It operates in an open market and the value of commodities is established by those in the supply chain. Defra continues to support the pig sector through a range of measures. Outdoor pig breeders may now apply to the Sustainable Farming Incentive and may access free business planning advice from independent advisers through the Farming Resilience Fund which is open until March 2025. They are also eligible to apply for our productivity and innovation grants via the Farming Investment Fund. This includes the £200 million that is available to support livestock farmers to manage slurry through the Slurry Infrastructure grant and the Farm Equipment & Technology Fund. Following feedback from the pig sector, we increased the storage capacity that pig farmers can apply for in Round 2 of the Slurry Infrastructure grant from six to eight months’ covered storage capacity. Pig breeders are also eligible to apply for support through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. This includes access to bespoke health and welfare advice through a fully funded vet visit and, as announced at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference earlier this month, imminent access to a second round of grants toward the cost of 59 equipment and technology items supporting improvement in the health and welfare of pigs. At the NFU conference, the Prime Minister confirmed we will introduce a regulatory framework for contracts with producers in the pig sector later this year, following the supply chain fairness review of the UK pig supply chain that was undertaken in 2022.

Dutch Elm Disease

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the efficacy of sanitary felling in slowing the spread of Dutch elm disease.

Lord Douglas-Miller: Dutch Elm Disease is a highly destructive vascular wilt disease of several species of elm. We do not take statutory action against Dutch Elm Disease as it is widespread across most of Great Britain. There is no effective cure available for Dutch Elm Disease, but early sanitation felling, or removal of infected trees and branches, can slow the spread of the disease. There is evidence that sanitation felling was used as a control method in the 1970s in specific areas such as Brighton and Hove which now houses the National Elm Collection, a well curated collection of hundreds of trees, containing cultivars of both susceptible and resistant species. Annual losses during this decade were variable but overall considered to be lower than areas where measures such as sanitation felling were not in place. No official and specific assessment has been made on efficacy as local authorities make their own decisions on implementing control measures. However, local authorities such as Brighton with significant healthy elm populations that may still be implementing these enhanced control methods could hold more information on the use of sanitation felling at a local level. Defra is currently prioritising investment in scientific research which aims to develop a more resistant and diverse elm population, to support the return of mature elms to the landscape nationwide. This includes mapping and gathering data on resistant elms across Great Britain, surveying their genomic diversity, evaluating the durability of disease resistant cultivars and establishing the current distribution of the two vector beetle species. Defra is also funding work with the John Innes Centre who are undertaking inoculation trials and propagating the most tolerant trees to establish new seed orchards with enhanced resistance to Dutch Elm Disease.

Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask His Majesty's Government whatis their timetable for the (1) introduction, and (2) implementation, of activity regulations under the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.

Lord Douglas-Miller: The Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad. Future decisions on which specific animal activities will fall in scope of the advertising ban will be evidence-based and subject to Parliamentary scrutiny. Sufficient, compelling evidence will be required to demonstrate why any specific advertising ban is needed. This Government continues to make animal welfare a priority and we are currently exploring a number of options to ensure progress as soon as is practicable.

Electrical Goods: Recycling

Lord Naseby: To ask His Majesty's Government why they are planning to require larger retailers to accept used electrical items for recycling, including products originally bought from other retailers, rather than using existing local authority facilities and specialist scrap metal recycling units.

Lord Douglas-Miller: Large retailers selling electrical products already have an obligation under the UK Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 to take back equipment for recycling, including products originally bought by other retailers, on sale of an equivalent item. The cost of recycling that waste equipment, and the cost of collection and recycling equipment deposited at local authority household waste recycling centres, is met by importers and manufacturers. With independent research from Material Focus indicating that at least 500,000 tonnes of waste electricals were lost through being thrown away, hoarded, stolen, or illegally exported every year, the government is consulting on proposals to make it easier for householders to responsibly recycle their waste electrical equipment, through whichever route they find most convenient.

Deposit Return Schemes

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government what materials their proposed deposit return scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will include; and whether they intend to add further materials after the scheme is operational.

Lord Douglas-Miller: The position on materials in scope in the Deposit Return Scheme for drink containers (DRS) was first published in March 2022 in the consultation response on an Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging; and reiterated in January 2023 in the DRS consultation response.

Deposit Return Schemes

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with packaging manufacturers regarding the scope of their proposed deposit return scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; and whether they intend to revise the scope of that scheme following any such discussions.

Lord Douglas-Miller: Conversations with packaging manufacturers on scope of materials in the deposit return scheme have been consistent with the position that was outlined in the Government’s consultation response in January 2023 (see attached).Introducing a DRS (pdf, 319.0KB)

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Peers: Correspondence

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to reply to the letter dated 15 September 2023 fromLord Berkeley to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the Leader of the House of Commons, regarding the governance of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: I apologise for the delay in responding to my Noble Lords’ correspondence. The department attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from Noble peers. A response issued on 27 February 2024.

Department for Transport

Fisheries: Conditions of Employment

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government whatis their latest assessment of working conditions in the UK fishing fleet.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Government maintains a strong interest in the living and working conditions within the fishing industry. The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention (ILO 188) was implemented into UK law in 2018. The Government continues to monitor living and working conditions in the fishing industry through the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) survey and inspection programme for fishing vessels. The Government chairs a twice-yearly tripartite working group comprising of Government, fishing vessel owner representatives and fishers’ representatives to monitor living and working conditions and the implementation of ILO 188 in the UK. It is now just over five years since the legislation to implement the standards of the ILO 188 Convention was made. The Government conducted a statutory review of the legislation in 2023 and the post implementation report will be published later this year.

Treasury

Public Sector: Borrowing

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government, what effect the surplus reported by the Office for National Statistics on 21 February has had on determining the forthcoming Budget statement.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Chancellor will present the Spring Budget on Wednesday 6 March alongside an updated official forecast from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which will consider wider economic developments and latest government policy.

Mortgages: Older People

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to identify the primary factors contributing to the recent decline in mortgage lending to borrowers aged over 55 in the UK.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government is regularly in contact with mortgage lenders on all aspects of their mortgage business to understand their position and current lending conditions.

Companies: Stocks and Shares

Baroness Moyo: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage more British companies to list in the UK instead of abroad.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The UK’s vibrant and dynamic capital markets are some of the strongest and deepest globally and the UK remains Europe’s leading hub for investment. Despite market turbulence globally in 2023, companies raised more capital in the UK than the next two highest European exchanges – Frankfurt and Amsterdam – combined.The government is building on this, with an ambitious programme of reforms to boost IPOs and improve the competitiveness of UK markets. This includes delivering on the recommendations of Lord Hill’s UK Listing Review, and the commitments in the Chancellor’s Mansion House and Edinburgh reforms.These reforms will make it easier for firms to list and raise more capital quickly in the UK. These reforms have been welcomed by industry and will ensure that the UK continues to support innovative firms to list and grow on UK markets.

Financial Services: Climate Change

Baroness Drake: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 25 January (HL Deb col 843), what assessment the Bank of England has made of the accuracy of the new Low Demand scenario and Fragmented world scenario published by the Network for Greening the Financial System, and whether these satisfactorily address whatBaroness Vere of Norbitonreferred to as "the challenges of the model ... [including the fact that] there is a higher number of independent transmission channels than previously thought and a lack of historical data", and the need to "anticipate a firm's reaction to climate change over the longer term".

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: HM Treasury and the Bank of England welcome work by the NGFS to evolve and improve their climate scenarios. The NGFS scenarios have been designed in collaboration with an expert group of climate scientists and economists and are widely recognised throughout the global community. However, while the scenarios provide a useful starting point for considering how climate risks could evolve under a set of plausible outcomes, they should not be treated as forecasts, and despite significant progress in modelling capabilities, do not account for every potential implication of climate change. The Bank of England worked with the NGFS to publish a guidance note in January 2024, which sets out how users should apply and adapt the scenarios within their work, including caveats to be mindful of, and where they may wish to tailor the intensity of the scenarios. The Bank continues to support the development of climate scenarios as a member of the NGFS’ dedicated “Scenario Design and Analysis” Workstream. The NGFS have strived to address many of the difficulties associated with climate modelling to date and continue to make further improvements with each iteration (for example, the latest Phase IV incorporated the impacts of additional physical hazards) in line with improving scientific understanding and computational capabilities, to ensure the scenarios continue to provide an important public good for public and private stakeholders.

National Income

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have of the underlying cause of the fall in gross domestic product per head in every quarter of 2023, as reported by the Office for National Statistics on 15 February, and what action they are taking to reverse this trend.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The economy has faced an unprecedented series of shocks, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. These have led to challenging economic circumstances. Looking over a longer timeframe, since 2010 GDP per capita has increased by 12%. Real household disposable income per capita - a more comprehensive measure of household living standards - has grown more than France and Italy since 2010.

Fishing Vessels: Insurance

Lord Teverson: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps the regulators of the UK insurance industry are taking to prevent UK insurers from offering insurance cover to operators of fishing vessels of any nationality that turn off their Automatic Identification Systems while fishing on the high seas.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government’s policy is that Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) should always be in operation when ships are underway or at anchor, however if the master believes that the continual operation of AIS might compromise the safety or security of the ship or where security incidents are imminent, AIS may be switched off. Insurers make decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. This is usually informed by the insurer’s claims experience and other industry-wide statistics and standards. The Government does not intend to intervene in these commercial decisions by insurers as this could damage competition in the market.